The warden's fall
by JP0503
Summary: Recently sightly modified. Kael'thas decides to save Maiev from certain death after she tries to take on illidan alone, plz r&r.
1. Last one standing

author's note: Ok, so I redid the whole thing to fit in with the (rather ambiguous) new lore from BC. In the beginning the fic was suppose to be my answer to some obscure flavor lore saying Maiev was dead and me saying: heck no I like this character! But when BC came out, I learned, much to my rejoice, that she wasn't dead: JOY!

So you'd think my whole purpose to write this fic would be gone...but no...HECK NO! There is another character in this fic that's one of my favorite and you know what they did to him in BC? They made him evil, he's a bad guy now! Kael'thas is the last boss of an epic instance ripe for 25 nameless morons (no offense meant, I mean the characters not the players) to beat the crap out of him and steal his magic stuff!

Well, NO! Kael evil, no way. so this fic will go on as i will now try to redeem Kael, in my eyes and perhaps yours too and show him as more than a circled red source of shiny purplz.

I do not own the warcraft universe...'cause if I did, things would be done differently!

(ranting done, on with the new and (I hope) improved story)

"We have to retreat mistress, there's too many of them!"

But Maiev Shadowsong ignored the plea of her lieutenant and pressed what remained of her watchers onward to meet the illidari forces. She had not come all the way from Kalimdor to the Azeroth and then this desolated wasteland hunting Illidan to back off in front of a few demons who had cowardly bowed down to Illidan after Magtheridon's defeat.

Well, more than a few actually, the demon force that was guarding Illidan's personal abode in the outlands, the black temple he had seized from the pit lord, outnumbered the night elves three to one. The watchers were falling quickly and the demons were taking very little causality.

But in Maeiv's mind, it was all worth it; Illidan was just within reach, just beyond those walls, if only they could break through this force, she could finally recapture the betrayer…If only her troops could win this one fight, then none of it would have been in vain, Illidan would pay for all his crimes, including being responsible for the death of so many of Maiev's soldiers.

"This is suicide, call them back, they're getting butchered!" the lieutenant insisted, riding a nightsaber panther at Maiev's side as they both charged into battle.

"Illidan is too close to let go, this is why we came here, we cannot give up now." Maiev answered with steely resolve. Unfortunately, anyone who knew anything about warfare and most five years old children could tell the odds were badly stacked against the night elves.

"You're mad! If we press on then we will all die and then it will have been in vain!" the young woman screamed over the dying wail of her comrades.

"If we can get just a few more meters of ground, I'll be within blink reach of the entrance, and then I can engage the betrayer myself…" Maiev started to explain her plan.

"AT THE COST OF OUR LIVES! WHAT ARE WE TO YOU, CANNON FODDER!?" the young huntress screamed in anger before addressing to the troops: "Anyone who wants to live, RETREAT!"

Though Maiev ordered the fleeing troops back into battle, none of them seemed to indulge her leadership at the time; they fled at once, turning their back on the illidari army.

But this desperate retreat was cut off by another force coming from behind, trapping the watchers between the advancing demons and themselves. Blood elves, twice as much as their purple skinned cousins, blocked the retreat.

What followed was a total massacre, whether under the blade and sorcery of the blood elves or the claws and flame of the demons, the night elf force was decimated to the last.

All except one, who had blinked out of this deadly scissor tactic.

Maiev watched, from the top of a hill, her troops get massacred by Illidan's. So many more death the betrayer would have to answer for. And so many more people who would have to pay with him. It didn't matter that she was now alone in this forsaken dead planet fighting an entire army led by a powerful sorcerer. Illidan would pay. The nagas would pay. The blood elves would pay. The demons would pay. They would all pay!

She would not rest until it was so.

And thus she departed the battle site, plotting her revenge against the betrayer and his allies.

Three days latter, as she was looking for food, hunger having become a growing concern over the last days, Maiev met with one of the man she blamed for her current situation.

"Greetings warden." said Kael'thas Sunstrider in a neutral voice. He was standing alone on the open plain, his arm crossed over his chest.

"You…" Maeiv growled bitterly as she charged him with her moonsword, eyes filled with hatred.

Kael got out a blade of his own and parried the furious night elf's assault. She however kept striking and didn't relent until the blood elf prince casted a spell to make himself incorporeal.

"Now what did I do to deserve that exactly?" in asked in the same calm voice.

"You…" Maeiv was breathing heavily from both hatred and exhaustion "…you turned Malfurion against me, you allied yourself to the betrayer and you sent your filthy blood elves to assassinate my troops!" she spat, slicing her blade through him without any harm.

"First, I did not mean to turn Malfurion on you, I only told him the priestess might still be alive, but you were the one who had lied to him and told him she had been torn to shreds. You lied out of fanatical obsession and perhaps a little hatred, I told the truth out of concern and goodwill. The fault was your own, don't blame it on me." He said in a paternal tone.

"If you had kept quiet just a second longer, I could have executed Illidan and be done with it all, I would never have come here and my watchers wouldn't be dead now! There would still have been time to help Tyrande, not that I care, she was the one to free him, making it only fair she sacrifice herself so he can be contained again!" Maiev said bitterly.

"A rather harsh judgment, Tyrande only did what she though was fair." Kael replied.

"Harsh but fair, she freed the betrayer, she his as her share of guilt in all his actions, just like you who allied yourself with him!" she said.

"Siding with Illidan was the only option to save my people from their own magical addiction and to get revenge on the undead scourge. If I had not followed him into the outlands, my people would have died, either executed by treacherous humans of self consumed by their own addiction." said Kael with renewed conviction.

"You're people should have died and their forsaken arcane practice with them, I wouldn't have shed a tear for any descendant of the very highborn who brought my people to ruin!" she screamed.

"The fact that the sin'dorei descend from those highborn who did not side with Azshara in the end aside, I guess I won't shed any either for those poor watchers you sent to suicide here on this broken planet." he answered, starting to sound as bitter as Maiev.

Upon completing his last sentence, Kael became solid again and Maiev seized the moment to attack him again, but once again, she was parried.

"Anyway, I did not come here to debate our respective choices." He said, keeping her at bay with his sword.

"Why then?" she growled.

"Without your watchers, you cannot hope to take on Illidan, he his far stronger than you and you'll just rush to your death if you keep up this relentless hunt. Beside, any day now, the demon lord Kil'jaeden will come to the outlands looking for Illidan too, I don't think he'll mind squashing you on the way. So I am here to offer you a way back to Azeroth." Kael explained while still keeping her would be mortal blow from hitting him.

Upon hearing this however, she stopped her assault.

"A way back?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yes, I have the mean to create a portal that will bring you out of this dying world, if you will take it." Kael said, relaxing his sword arm, assuming he would not have to parry another blow.

"What! You don't want to bother killing me so you're nicely asking that I leave Illidan alone? No, I am staying here until Illidan dies!" she said angrily.

"I wanted to offer you an alternative Maiev. There is no way for you to get to Illidan, let alone defeat him. I though I might manage to make you understand it. This might be your only chance to return to Kalimdor before Outland becomes the theatre of a demon lord's wrath, or Illidan kills you." Kael said, returning to a calmer tone.

"There will be no alternative! I will make Illidan answer for his crimes myself, whatever it takes, and not you, your blood elves the nagas of even a demon lord will stand in my way!" she screamed with a glint of madness in her eyes.

Kael raised his shoulder in resignation.

"So be it." He simply said, sounding saddened.

He dropped a bag at Maiev's feet, casted a spell and vanished into thin air. The warden opened the bag warily and found fresh bread and a gourd of water in it. Seething against the blood elf for mocking her so, she still did sate her hunger on his present before resuming her hunt…

Two days later, a lone figure landed on one of the dusty hill of the outlands, absentmindedly surveying the surrounding. But the boundaries of his realm were the least of Illidan Stormrage's worries right now. He traced his finger over the large scar over his chest yet again, painful proof that he had failed Kil'jaedan.

Thousands of time now, he had replayed the events in his head and he still couldn't understand how he could have failed. How could a mere human have defeated him, no matter how much he searched his memories, he couldn't see when and how Arthas could have ever struck him down.

And yet Vashj and Kael assured him that this painful scar was a healed wound of a near fatal blow dealt by Frostmourne. That though had been slowly driving him even less sane than he had been.

Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him; something was coming quickly in his back. He jumped in the air in a wing beat in time to see that he had just dodged a blow from Maeiv Shadowsong. The warden had blinked behind him and hoped to take him by surprise.

Irritated by the night elf's incursion in his introspection, Illidan focused his will to burn away all magical energy within Maeiv, then he drew his warglaives and swung it in her back in one fluid move before she could event turn back. Her feet never touched the ground.

"Don't you ever give up, little warden?" he said angrily "You kept me chain underground for ten thousand years, then I was banished from my own homeland to dwell in this husk of a world, but it still isn't enough for you, now you…you DARE follow me even here!!"

He dropped her to the ground, she was still too shocked to speak, the wound in her back causing severe blood loss. She couldn't even articulate a coherent answer.

"I must thank you though, finally getting rid of you does brighten what had so far been a rather bad day." He sneered. He kicked her on the side of the face with his hoof to force her face to look toward his.

"Now die Maiev, alone, bitter, unsung and un-mourned on this dead planet, I was a mistake to follow me here. You were far too rash, you..." He stated evilly.

The warden tried to reach out to her moonsword with her left arm, but Illidan stepped on the elbow, audibly breaking it. Maiev screamed.

"You were not prepared!" He screamed before flying away.

Maiev saw the Betrayer escape her as life leaked from her, drop by drop. Everything she had done, everything she had sacrificed, she all did thinking that killing Illidan would make it all up for it. And now that she had finally managed to get him alone, he had bested her before she even landed a blow.

Hatred turned to despair and revenge to regret in Maiev's heart as her eyes slowly closed for what she knew was the last time.

The next day, a cloaked figure walked toward sunfury hold in the middle of the twin mooned night carrying what seemed to be a large and heavy burden. He walked up to the unfinished fortress that looked over the newly build encampment to meet with the man waiting for him, the blood elf prince Kael'thas.

"I was expecting you, Akama." The prince said.

"I have done as you asked, Prince Kael. She is weak but thanks to my healing magic, she is no longer in danger." answered the draenei elder sage, giving the human sized pouch he had been carrying to the young elf. As a fold of the cloth piece slid, Maiev Shadowsong's head, still clad in her helmet, was revealed.

"No one saw you?" the blood mage asked, quickly covering the night elf's face back.

"I was as stealthy as you'd expect from any of my people to have survived so long, no one knows of this." the old draenei answered "aside from you and…well, now them I guess." He added, gesturing at the two spell breakers flanking the prince.

"Fear not, these two have my complete trust, you have my thanks, elder sage." Kael answered.

"If I may, blood mage, why did you ask me to bring the wounded warden to you? Illidan will surely not be pleased with this if he finds out." Akama asked suspiciously.

"Tell me Akama, why did you side with Illidan?" Kael asked back while securing Maiev's wounded body in his arms.

"To get rid of the orcs and demons that destroyed our beloved draenor and claim some of it back as our own." answered the elder sage, matter-of-factly.

"To save your people then, just like me?" Akama nodded "Only now you realize that Illidan as made pact with the most powerful still living general of the burning legion, have failed him and has now brought his wrath to all who have sided behind him." Kael waited for Akama to grimly approve before going on "as thankful as you might be for what he has done for your people, their safety his still more important than your loyalty to Illidan, right?" again, the draenei nodded "and thus Akama, you and I are the same, we are the leader of our people before Illidan's lackey, our true loyalty doesn't lie within him and you must sometime make decisions that go against Illidan's wish for the sake of the draenei, yet you know his wrath would be endless if he knew of your betrayal, thus you hide things from him." He concluded.

"I can only agree. In truth I despise Illidan as much as I did Magtheridon, no sooner did he overthrow the self proclaimed lord of Outland did he claimed himself the new one, and that I cannot abide. Still, right now he his the lesser of two evil and I do not have the strength to oppose him, as long as he believe my people are as much his as yours, the nagas, the fel orcs and what's left of the pit lord's forces, the draenei will be safe. My loyalty, as you said, lies with my people alone and not this depraved, power mad night elf." The elder sage stated.

"Beyond placing the need of your people before his it seems you truly hate Illidan, how do you know I do not hold enough loyalty to him to warn him of your lack of faith?" the blood elf prince inquired, more out of curiosity then malice.

"Well, let's just say we are even now, you will keep my secret and in exchange…" he looked down to Maiev's concealed body, smiling slyly "…I will keep yours. Which brings me up to this question, why? Why save the warden?"

"Illidan wants her to die, I want her to live. Why? My motive regards only me. Don't worry, if I am discovered, he will never know your part in this." Kael assured.

The elder sage considered the blood elf prince a few seconds before turning back.

"I have led my people through many hardships young Kael and I have learned that sometime, a leader must make sacrifices for the good of his people. To put the draenei in danger for personal reasons would have made me unworthy of being their leader." Akama said, starting to fade in invisibility.

"You think I'm making a mistake, elder sage?" Kael said, looking down on the woman who had pursued Illidan until she died from her fanatical conviction.

"The draenei you have seen did not always look this way, there was a time when our people was powerful and pure…but war and despair led us down a terrible path that warped our bodies into the form you see today, yet our minds remain the same for in our soul we are still pure. What you did today Kael was the right thing, and that gives me hope for your people. May the light embrace you, sin'dorei." the draenei said before departing, unseen and unheard.

Kael'thas turned back, carrying Maiev to a room where her wounds could be tended to, mediating on the words of the elder draenei. They had not always looked this way? War and despair had made them the way they are? Most disturbing of all was the parting blessing of the elder sage…it sounded like a prayer of the holy light…


	2. awakening

Forgot to mention that in the chapter1 author's note: The bladed ring Maiev use is a special night elf weapon called a moonsword (from the WoW tabletop rpg) hers is a particularly powerful one called _umbral crescent_

Everything was dark around her, was this death? She felt warm all of a sudden, comfy, she had definitely left the rocky ground of Outlands. Where was she then, why was it so dark? She hardly felt her body but slowly regained her ability to move; she started by the toes, working up to her legs, then…

She grunted from the pain, her stomach was horribly painful and that had nothing to do with hunger, this was right where Illidan had sliced her open. But if she could still feel pain, then she must have been alive, but why was it so…

Cursing her own foolishness, Maiev opened her eyes, not without great effort. The room in which she had woken up was mostly red and gold, the architecture and decoration reminded her of kal'dorei architecture, except that it seem unnecessarily luxuous. She was resting in a bed, or so she assumed, she had not the strength to move her head and confirm. She was not longer wearing her helmet of armor and her hair, usually held in a long ponytail were untied, the only cloth she whore seemed to be soft silk nightgown and bandages around her stomach and left elbow.

She stirred up the strength to move, but couldn't get herself to leave the bed, she did manage to turn her head slightly to her right when she heard another person's breathing.

Tall, thin, glowing green eyes, long blond hairs, oversized ears and eyebrows, wearing a red and black robe, this girl was clearly a blood elf, Maiev could even her unnatural arcane corruption.

"Where…" she tried to ask the blood elf where she was but realized how dry her throat was, she was unable to speak.

"In sunfury hold, the blood elf's main camp in Outlands, do you want some water?" she asked "just nod if you can't speak"

No matter how angry she was at knowing she was in the middle of the hated blood elve's main base, Maeiv couldn't deny that she was thirsty and reluctantly nodded, causing the young elf to pour water from a gourd in her throat.

"Why am I here." She asked coldly. Surely Illidan had had second though and realized it would be more fitting to keep her alive a little longer, probably to toy with her further.

"Hmph, I wish I knew." the blood elf girl answered "but that's Prince Kael's business, not mine apparently. Speaking of which, I have to go tell him you're awake. Please, if you do manage to stand and walk, don't try to walk out of here, most blood elves here will kill you on sight." she said, leaving the room and leaving Maeiv alone.

She doubted she could go anywhere in her current state anyway, unarmed and still wounded in the middle of an enemy fortress. What did that girl mean by "Prince Kael's business"? Had Illidan charged Kael'thas with keeping her prisoner, or maybe the blood elf had asked specifically to know when she woke up so he could mock her further for her failure. Damn him, damn Illidan, damn all these forsaken blood elves…

The doors swung open again to let the blood elf prince come into the room, he wasn't wearing his black and red armor as he usually did in battle, the only situation where Maeiv had ever seen him, but instead a red and gold wizard robe marked with the Sunstrider's crest on the chest.

"I am not to be disturbed by anyone for any reason, except lord Illidan or one of his envoy… or if Kil'jaedan decides to pay us a visit." He told the blood elf girl before closing the door.

"Death was too merciful for me, Illidan decided to keep me prisoner, I'm sure he loves this, the irony of jailing the jailer…" Maeiv said bitterly as Kael approached the bed. She tried to sustain his glare but in the end, fear got the better of her. She had seen firsthand the ravage arcane corruption could have on the mind and morality of even the noblest of her kind, and right now, she was alone in a place where no one cared with one of the most deeply magically addicted being alive today. What Kael might do to her sent chill down her spine, especially since she would be powerless to do anything about it.

"Illidan believes you are dead and buried and I don't intend to try and convince him otherwise. In his delusion, he probably wouldn't believe me anyway. Beside, you are not prisoner, you are free to leave, only you might want to stay under care of our healers a little longer." answered the blood mage calmly.

None of this made sense, if Illidan wasn't behind this then why the hell was she being healed?

"What? Then why am I here if not by Illidan's will?" she asked, confused.

"I have a will of my own, in case you didn't know; Illidan is too busy denying his defeat at the frozen throne to care about what I do." Kael answered.

"Then…you mean you're the one who brought me here to be healed, without Illidan knowing?" she asked. That wouldn't made sense, Kael had enlisted his blood elves as Illidan's lackey; surely he wouldn't do something that so openly defied his master's will.

"I sent a friend to pick your dying corpse in secret and bring you here for intensive care, yes." Kael admitted in the same neutral and rather distant voice.

"Why? Don't you realize that as soon as I'll be able, I'll resume my hunt of Illidan and all who dared to side with him, including you and your filthy magic addicted race!" she spat angrily, not caring that she was at Kael's mercy and sickened by the thought that it was the blood elf's pity that had probably kept her alive.

"You will never be able to hunt Illidan, even when you fully recover, you will still not have the strength to defeat him…or I for all that matter, and you certainly can't take down the thousand blood elves under my care by yourself. Harsh as it may be for you to accept, warden, this is the truth." Kael said coldly "How I had wish your close brush with death would have made you abandon this self destructive vengeance…" he added, sounding a bit more saddened.

"Listen to me carefully Kael, I don't believe in repentance, what you have done as not brought you my sympathy, whatever it takes, as soon as I'm able to stand, walk and wield my moonsword, I'll go after you and your blood elves, Vashj's naga, the "illidari" as they like to call themselves and Illidan himself, justice will prevail, no matter the cost to me, I _will _finish the hunt." She said with cold resolve, perfectly realizing how futile it was to so threaten someone who could end your life in a wave of his hand.

But as the words flowed out, as she delivered the same speech she had told everyone and repeated to herself times and times again, Maeiv started to doubt. She had never doubted anything in her life, but now she wondered: had she been right to hunt Illidan so recklessly, to sacrifice the life of her comrades, to track him down here, to swear vengeance against not only him but all those who stood by his side?

Yes, she had been, it _had_ to have been the right decisions. Everything she had sacrificed, all the pain she had endured, all the risk she took, they where all worth it in the end, else this would all have been…futile.

No, she could not offer to doubt now. Her cause was true, her actions were in the name of justice and all the sacrifices were worth it, for recapturing the betrayer was more important than anything. As soon as she would be back on her feet, she would resume the hunt.

"Assuming, by whatever miracle would allow this, that you succeed, then what?" Kael simply said.

Then she would…

But she found no answer, she had never thought about this, she had already assumed that killing Illidan was now the best thing to do, but what would she do then? Return to Kalimdor and face the wrath of Malfurion and Tyrande? Neither of them would forgive her what she had done simply because she had killed Illidan and his followers.

"I…I don't know." She admitted, more to herself then the blood elf.

"You will be alone on a dead planet drifting through the twisting nether, with only a few draenei, fel orcs, demons and the ghost of your slaughtered warriors to keep you company until you crumble somewhere in the red dust." Kael said "no one will ever know of your fate, or that of your fellow watchers and just like this planet, you will be forgotten."

Maeiv had never though of that, it was true that since she had no arcane magical powers whatsoever, and surely didn't want any, she couldn't create a gateway back to her own plane. Her only hope of ever going back to Kalimdor where either somewhere in the outlands sinking into denial madness…

Or right here at her head of bed.

But she'd sooner drink demon blood than ask Kael for help. She wanted no help from the man Tyrande had forced her to help, from the man who had made the archdruid call her betrayer, from the man who had freed Illidan when she finally managed to cage him back and certainly not from the man who had denied her a death in battle by nursing her back to health.

"But justice will be served, what happens to me is unimportant." she answered with only a tiny bit less conviction than usual.

"Justice is it? It's justice that you should throw your life away for only a small chance to kill Illidan? Is that some sort of warden oath: "Your task is more important than your life"?" Kael asked, seeming a little upset with Maeiv's stubbornness.

"If you must know, it is." the night elf answered fiercely "I let Illidan escape and now it's my task to right my mistake, if it is to cost me my life…"

It might very well do, that thought was haunting her.

"…then so be it!" she finished, once again, a careful listener could hear the stubble hint of doubt in her voice, and Kael was had very keen ears.

He considered the night elf woman for a few seconds. She glared back with cold hatred but averted his dark eyes, for as calm as the blood elf might seem, she sensed arcane magic glinting in these featureless eyes. She had seen similar eyes before, those highborn who fell deepest into the corruption of queen Azshara during the war of the ancient had similar eyes, void of the night elf's usual silver glow in favor of seemingly endless abyss. Was it only Kael or did all blood elves wear such a distinctive heritage of those who brought night elf society to ruin 10 000 years ago?

Suddenly, Kael turned back and walked away, heading for the door.

"I could kill you here and now Maeiv, that would probably even be a merciful thing to do." he said with his back turned. "But as reluctantly as it might have been, many of my blood elves still owe you their lives, and it's true I had my part in your current situation. I will send a healer to take care of your wounds once in for all, then you may do as you please." the blood elf prince said. Then he left the room, leaving Maiev alone.

Maeiv was relieved to see the blood mage leave and laid her head back on the pillow. She noticed that the sheets of the bed and her hairs were filled with static electricity, but she had more immediate concern. Why, in Elune's name, had Kael'thas saved her? He had openly admitted it was not Illidan's order, which meant the demon hunter would have him executed as soon as he found out. Why then, would Kael take the risk?

To pay some sort of debt he had toward her? Unlikely, he had already filled in his part of the bargain when he helped her stop Illidan at the Dalaran ruin; they were even about her helping his people across the plaguelands.

To make up for the trouble he had caused her then? Did he really care about that? Did Kael care for those who suffered from the choices he had made to save his people, they seemed to have been driven by despair and thirst for power rather than malice.

Nonsense, these blood elves had fallen as low as their Quel'dorei ancestor who were now nagas and satyrs; how much longer before their still fair elven features turn as monstrous as their fallen cousins? The arcane addiction had corrupted them to the core, and Kael's actions were probably nothing short of madness similar to that of his new master.

Slaying Illidan would come first as soon as she was better, but then she'd have to deal with the blood elf prince too because if not, he might be just as dangerous as Illidan. They were both the same, driven by an endless quest for magical power they were becoming twisted by it, mad and evil beyond redemption.

If she would never see Kalimdor again, then at least she would make sure to take down the last and most dangerous arcanists in the world. Then maybe, she could make up for the lost lives of her comrades, for her failure at guarding Illidan…

But lying down here, reminding herself all that had just happened in the last month, Illidan's escape, his absorption of the skull of Gul'dan, the race to sargeras's tomb, the death of Naisha…

And this one was too much, Maeiv had tried long and hard to harden her heart beyond sorrowful mourning, but Naisha had been her closest friend for thousands of years and she had died crushed under a collapsing cave while she made her escape. Why did she only now realized how much she had lost in her relentless pursuit, why did she only now realized how horrible she had been of not even trying to find a way to free her friend…

A tear slid down Maeiv's closed eye, the first tear to be shed for one of her soldiers. The warden laid there, remembering the faces of all her fallen watchers, only now realizing how much she had lost in this battle. Had she really grown so cold, so distant that she only now felt remorse for what she had done?

All that introspection made Maeiv realize two things.

First, lost and trapped in the outlands, she had nothing to gain except for revenge on those responsible, Kael and Illidan.

Second, she had nothing left to loose.

The door slammed so hard Mel'nadin fell off his chair from surprise. He stood up to look at the one who dared interrupt the crucial task his prince had trusted him with, ready to give him a stern speech about the fine art of knocking before entering.

"Who the hell do you…" but the old elf became silent as soon as he saw who exactly he was addressing. He lifted his work goggles and bowed slightly.

"Prince Kael'thas…" he said much more respectfully at the newly arrived elf.

"Sorry to interrupt you so loudly, Mel'nadin, but I need your analysis report now." the younger elf said matter-of-factly.

"About the warden's equipment?" the old mage asked.

"Of course, what else?" Kael said, hinting that he was in a hurry. For reason he did not yet understand himself, Kael had asked his most trusted advisor to have a look at Maeiv's equipment. He had not told him what to look for, he didn't know himself. The warden was a walking enigma to the blood elf prince, and he wanted to understand where such an obsessive drive had come from. Then maybe, he could convince her to go home and not force him to be her opponent again.

He had hated that day…

"Well, there are a bunch of powerful magical items, especially her moonsword, armor and cloak, but one was particularly potent…" he explained, directing the prince through his lab while pointing out the objects that belonged to Maeiv Shadowsong. They stopped in front of a hovering sphere that seemed made out of pure darkness.

But the blood mage was hardly paying any attention; his thoughts were still with the warden. He had never seen Maeiv's face before, and her face was still haunting him, her fair elven features, pale silver eyes, deep purple skin, flowing dark blue hair…

These entire features twisted with cold hatred, for himself, his race and everything they stood for.

He wondered why he was being so foolish; he had so many other things to think about, why was this hopeless case of psychotic obsession now resting under the care of his healers the one getting all his attention?

"Behold my prince, the shadow orb." the older wizard said proudly, apparently not having noticed that Kael's attention was elsewhere.

But hearing about the shadow orb dragged the blood elf prince back to reality.

"This is the famous shadow orb, the artifact of the shadow council wielded by Gul'dan when he was looking for the tomb of Sargeras?" Kael asked incredulously.

"Apparently it was shattered in ten pieces at some point, but the warden as made a good job reconstituting it. It content several potent magic, but what worries me is that it seems to insidiously corrupt the mind of those who use it…" Mel'nadin said, worried.

"How so?" Kael asked, suddenly sounding interested.

"I have no idea my prince, but as I tried to take the orb in my hands, I felt it…as if it was whispering in my head… I dare not test my aging mind against such powerful magic." the mage admitted.

"Then I will." Kael simply said, taking a hold of the orb before the other blood elf could stop him.

At the moment he touched the orb, it started hovering around his head, the same way his green magical sphere did. And suddenly, his toughs that had so far been on the warden he had saved from death shifted to another face, a face Kael'thas hated with every fiber of his being: pale, corpselike skin, long white hairs, empty, soulless eyes… the death knight, Arthas Menethil.

And suddenly, he realized what a fool he had been, who cares about this warden, let her die drown in her own vengeance, he had greater concerns, the ghost of Quel'thalas howled for revenge!

He left the room as quickly as he had entered it, ignoring the old wizard he had left behind. Who cared about his protests, he needed to sharpen his sword, shine his armor and gather his troops.

They were going to assault the frozen throne and makes Arthas pay! The hell with how strong he had become!

Mel'nadin gave up on stopping the young prince. It was just as he suspected, the shadow orb had an insidious effect on the mind of its wielder and now it was affecting Kael'thas. Had the warden also been the victim of the corrupting orb?

Back in her room, Maeiv had quickly dried her tear as the blood elf healer came in. She remained silent even as the young woman healed what was left of her wounds magically. She felt her body mend and in seconds, she was once again able to stand, which she did promptly. She whispered a half hearted thanks between her teeth to the blood elf and set her mind to more important matter, finding her armor and weapons back.

At this moment, another blood elf woman erupted in the room and addressed the healer: "You, hurry, Prince Kael as commanded that all elves in fighting shape gather in the village." The newly arrived woman said in a voice that hinted dread.

"What? Why?" the healer wondered.

"I don't know. He's been striding around the fortress, summoning everyone to arms, there is a rumor that he wants us to assault the frozen throne." the other said.

"That's madness, we're just back from there; we can't assault it back right now, it's suicide!" the healer protested.

"Tell him that, he's the leader, now come on."

"What about her?" she was referring to the warden.

"I don't know, leave her here, he didn't look in a mood for disobedience."

Hesitating a second, the healer left with her fellow blood elf, leaving Maeiv alone once again.

"What the hell just happened?" she asked herself "All of a sudden Kael wants to travel to icecrown and engage the lich king? That blood elf was right; it was suicide, why would Kael be willing to send his troops to self destruction…

Revenge was the first thing to come to her mind.

She suddenly realized what was probably happening to the blood elf prince, he was about to send people who trusted and blindly followed him to certain death to hunt a monstrously powerful foe. This was too similar, too sudden, a pattern she knew only too well, there had to be some sort of connection.

And she would find out, she would discover just why, all of a sudden, Kael'thas Sunstrider was acting just like she had…


	3. The shadow orb

« And thus my brethrens, we shall head back to our home world at once. We have hid from the alliance and the scourge on this husk of a world long enough, from Illidan we have learned to tap into energies of magical creatures to sate our thirst, it is time we bring this knowledge back to our people and use it to mount a final offensive on the frozen throne! The scourge that has decimated our homeland will be destroyed, and our slain kin shall be avenged!" Kael preached to the assembled blood elves.

The vast majority of the gathered elves cheered at their leader's inspirational speech, but a few protest rose.

"What of the mana forges we started building? You said we could use the netherstorm's energies to restore the sunwell, are we to just give that up!" a mage shouted out.

"What good would the sunwell be if we are still at risk of having Arthas come and raise one of his minions with his energies? The scourge's destruction must be our first priority if we are to ever regain our lost glory!" Kael claimed.

"The Lich King's forces outnumber us ten to one! We do not have the might to stand against the lich king yet!" A solider pointed out.

"Yet?! What do you mean yet? The Lich King's forces will only grow if left unchecked and much faster then our own. But where he commands walking, soulless corpses, our armies are proud and powerful warriors who will fight with the passion and fury the likes of which they have never witnessed! We will join back with our people in Quel'thalas to bolster our ranks and then, we shall march on Icecrown glacier and visit the undead with the full extend of our wrath!" The prince shouted back, earning him more cheers from the crowd, delusional as his claims might have been, he still had a way of lifting his people's spirit.

"Those who remained behind are supposed to be claiming back our ancient lands to ensure that our inheritance doesn't disappear…must we give that up too? Must we risk extinction because we are too proud to ask other races of Azeroth for help?" a peasant woman standing away from the warrior crowd screamed, holding a little elven boy close to her.

"Like who! The humans? The dwarves? Or maybe you were thinking of the orcs? There is no one on Azeroth we can trust, we are on our own, and we always have been! The future of the sin'dorei will be made by our actions today, and these actions we must take!" Kael answered.

Meanwhile, Maiev made her way though the corridors of the fortress, looking for either Kael, her equipment, of some sort of indication to either. She turned around a corner and met two young blood elves gearing up in golden plate armor hastily.

"C'mon, I can hear the cheering from here, whatever the prince's telling them it outta be big."

"You think it's really about going back to Azeroth and fighting the lich king?"

"I dunno, I wish it is."

"What? You're mad, you fought the Icecrown battle right next to me, you saw the horror, and you really want to go back there?"

"Oh, get real, prince Kael isn't stupid, we're going back to Quel'thalas first to, you know, regroup and plan our strategy, probably try to get a few allies along the way and "then" we assault the Lich King, it's not like he's heedlessly sending us into an hopeless battle, Kael's not like that."

"I wouldn't take that as face value, not anymore" Maiev interrupted them.

The two blood elves turned around, surprised, to look at the night elf. One of them eyed her from head to toe and whistled.

"Nice…" he said suggestively.

Maiev look down at herself and remember she was wearing nothing but a small silk cloth to cover her body. She quickly took offense at the comment and spun around, delivering a fierce kick to the offending elf jaw.

"Pervert!"

The other elf, who was also, if more subtly, enjoying the view of Maiev's barely covered body, realized it was a highly talented assassin of night elf justice standing before him and went for his two bladed sword.

Maiev blink next to him grabbed his arm and twisted it in an arm lock.

"Tell me where to find my equipment or I'll break your arm…" the warden threatened coldly.

"I…I think Prince Kael had it sent to Mel'nadin's lab…it's this way." The soldier answered shakily, pointing in the right direction with his free arm.

"Thank you." Maiev said with a slight smile before knocking him out.

The warden headed in the direction that was indicated to him and came upon a door behind which she could feel strong arcane energies. Plus, it had a small sign with the name "Mel'nadin" written on it, proof enough it was the place she was looking for.

She kicked the door open and stormed the room, sweeping her eyes around it, looking for her gears. There was a white haired elf turning his back to her who spoke up as soon as she came in.

"Prince Kael?" the old elf asked without turning around.

Maiev walked up to the Mel'nadin, picking up a dagger lying on one of the many messy tables on her way. She wrapped her arms around the old mage, placed the dagger on his throat and brought her head to rest on his right shoulder.

"No, though luck…" she whispered in his ear.

"Y…you, why are you here?" the old man asked in a strangled voice.

"You have a few things that belong to me I believe…" She looked around the room and spotted her warden armor, her bladed cloak and her weapon, the moonsword _umbral crescent_. "But it looks like something is missing?" she added, pressing the blade just a little harder against the Mel'nadin's throat.

"The orb…the prince took it, I warned him, I told him it could have insidious effect on the mind…but he wouldn't listen, he picked it up an then…went running through the fortress to do the light knows what…" the wizard explained quickly.

Maiev released the mage from her grasp and remembered that, indeed, the event coincided. True she had always been zealous in her pursuit of justice, but it had taken a dramatic turn for the worse after she confronted Illidan in the tomb of Sargeras.

After she assembled the shadow orb…

"You were right. Whatever Kael is out to do, he's no longer himself, he has to be stopped." She said with resolve.

"Agreed, but he happens to be one of the greatest mage alive today...and he commands the loyalty of all the blood elves…" the old mage pointed out as if it was painfully obvious.

"Just leave it to me…" Maiev said as she picked up the chest piece of her armor to don it.

A ball of pure arcane energy appeared in Mel'nadin's hand.

"I will not let you murder Prince Kael! Step away from there at once!" he threatened, lifting his hand in the air.

Maiev placed the chest piece back on the table with the rest of its pieces, which were all lying meticulously aligned as if someone was wearing them. Suddenly, Maiev disappeared only to reappear lying on the table "inside" her armor, every piece fitting as if she had just don it hastily. The old mage panicked and fired his magic bolt, but Maiev was already gone, in another corner of the room where she grabbed her cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders. In desperation, Mel'nadin tried once more to fire an arcane bolt at the intruder, but she vanished again. He looked around, on edge, looking for where the warden might have reappeared and on his second sweep of the room, his throat came in contact with cold metal, but it wasn't a dagger anymore. The large bladed ring could have beheaded him in one swift motion of the now metal clad hand. He looked at the two glowing silver orbs in the lids of the helmet, wondering if his time had come.

Much to his relief, the now fully armed warden lowered her moonsword.

"Your prince has spared my life, I will do him the same favor, but he must be stopped before he hurts others, of himself. You will NOT stand in my way, right?" she asked coldly.

The old mage only nodded, which Maiev found a satisfying answer. She left, following the clamor and cheers, assuming it would lead her to Kael'thas.

"There can be no more hesitation, every moment we waste the Lich King's forces grows. We must strike now and take our rightful revenge!" Kael raised his fist in the air. "ANAR'ALAH BELORE!"

"ANAR'ALAH BELORE!" the booming chorus answered as one, raising their weapons in the air.

"That's enough Kael!" a steely feminine voice claimed as the clamor died down. Everyone turned around to look at Maiev Shadowsong standing on the top of a nearby tent.

"Maiev…if you still entertain this ridiculous idea of defeating me, I daresay you picked the wrong time…" the prince stated, raising a disdainful eyebrow.

"No Kael, I didn't come here to fight you, I'm hoping I can convince you that this orb is affecting your mind for the worst, you are not thinking straight and you are leading your people down a path that will only lead to their destruction…" the warden warned.

Many archers had knotted arrows and where aiming at Maiev, daring her to make a move against their prince.

"HAHAHAHA…forgive me Maiev, but hearing you lecturing me about how to lead my people is hilarious indeed, if you knew anything about leadership, maybe you'd have a few watchers to back you up on this claim, no?" the blood elf prince laughed out, soon accompanied by several of his men.

The prince's taunt stuck Maiev right where it hurts, it reminded her of her failure, her guilt…all those things she could not realize when the orb of shadow was clouding her judgment. Still, she showed no sight of it, controlled or not by the sinister artifact; she would not give Kael the satisfaction of seeing his words hurt her…

"It's true I made mistakes, terrible ones, that led to the death of all who followed me Kael, a lot of it was certainly due to my recklessness and zeal, but the shadow orb made me forsake everything in the name of my obsession. Don't you see it's doing it to you too? In the name of your crusade against the Lich King, you are willing to sacrifice the life of your soldiers, the future of your people, and the safety of your ancestral homeland?" she challenged him

The words were wise and rational, but Kael was far beyond reasoning. His features hardened as he shot a menacing glare at the warden.

"Seize her!" he ordered.

Arrows and spells fused all around Maiev, but she wasn't there to take the hit, in an instant she was behind Kael, but the prince had seen her coming. He invoked a great burst of energy around himself just as the warden materialized, sending her tumbling to the ground, away from the small army gathered, from the impact. She stood rolled on the ground, getting back to her feet quickly.

"I will not let you fall into the same trap as I did, this monstrous artifact must be destroyed!" she cried out.

She threw her _umbral crescent_ at the shadow orb, which since it was hovering around the prince's head could have beheaded him if Maiev, wasn't so skilled with it. It missed the orb but struck one of the green spheres around Kael's head. Barely acknowledging the attack, Kael'thas invoked one of his favorite spells, five circles of glowing red runes formed around Maiev's feet, and she knew only too well what awaited her if she didn't move, but she had to end this fight quickly, and she might not twice have such an opening, especially with the army ready to come to the prince's aid.

She wrapped her cloak around herself and raised a single arm in the air, the one with which she had hurled her moonsword. While Kael was casting his spell, the orbs around his head stopped moving for a moment, and thus were easy targets. Raising her arm in the air was the motion to activate her _umbral crescent_'s power, it turned around in the air and came back to her hand, hitting the orb of darkness and knocking it off the orbit of Kael's head in the process.

But as she planned out this surgical strike, she made no effort to avoid the flamestrike spell Kael had casted at her, all she could hope was for her cloak to protect her from the searing flames that were even now rising around her. She lowered her head as the heat around her started to rise, knowing full well it would only get worse soon enough.

"It's true I have not been the most pious of your daughters recently…" she whispered.

The raging pillar of fire engulfed her, causing severe burns all over her body.

"…but now I call upon your mercy…great Elune…if my prayers can reach you even from the faraway world…"

Maiev collapsed on the ground after the worst of the spell hit her, gravely wounded, but still alive, but the flamestrike spell left the ground still burning and she couldn't do anything to evade it

"…please allow me another chance to make up for my mistakes!"

Then, she fainted.

As for Kael, as the moonsword knocked the shadow orb from around his head, it seemed as if he was suddenly drained of all his strength, he fell to one knee and slowly recovered his senses.

He raised his head to see the _umbral crescent_ fall on the ground next to Maiev's motionless body, surrounded by the flames of his own spell. She had kept telling him that the orb was affecting his mind…and now it seemed…plausible, he still felt a powerful urge to pick up the cursed artifact and resume his war preparation, leaving the foolish warden to burn…

But he fought that urge, Maiev, had she wanted to could have decapitated him, twice, but she didn't, she only freed him from the orb, and as only thanks she was being burned alive as he stood there, moreover, several blood elves were gathering around him to help him to his feet, but nobody was helping the warden…

He pushed away the elves trying to help him and ran up to Maiev, quickly wording a spell to make raise a shield against fire around him, and picked her up from the ground. He could feel that, through some miracle or incredible will to live, she was still alive. "Good" he though.

"I want three competent healers in the room we arranged for her this instant!" he ordered.

"Sir…"

"You heard me, get moving!" he screamed with authority.

"But…the war…the Lich King"

"Everything I said up while the orb was around my head is not to be taken as my opinion or an order, this device was indeed clouding my judgment, and now that I see clearly I see this woman was the only one who stood up to me while I was leading you to your death, I do not blame any of you for your loyalty, but she needs and deserve to be healed, NOW!" he repeated on a tone that left no room for reply.

"Sir, what about the orb?"

"Nobody touches it, nobody gets near it! I'll deal with it myself, later! No hurry!" he commanded.

Maiev felt good…better than she had felt in several millennia, she felt content, safe and unexplainably joyous. She was floating in the vast reaches of the night sky, among the stars, it was very serene, liberating. Then she was bathed in pale silver light and she heard a soft and caring voice whisper to her hear: "very well, dear daughter…"

Suddenly, she opened her eyes to find herself, again, lying in a large bed, wrapped in bandages, wearing a simple silk nightdress and feeling her body wrapped in pain.

"Awake at last?" a familiar voice called out from her left.

With much effort she turned her head to face Kael'thas.

"I'm having déjà-vu here…" she said, and to her great surprise, she smiled. She didn't know what else to do, for the first in a long time she had been successful in doing what she though was right, that made her feel good enough to smile.

"You should stop trying to take on people stronger than you…" he said teasingly, smiling as well.

"Be thankful, I wasn't _actually _trying to kill you." She replied, and it seemed she couldn't wipe the smile of her face. She was too happy to be alive and that the shadow orb was…

"What happened to the shadow orb?" she asked suddenly, trying to stand but only sending waves of pain through her body.

"As soon as your health was stable I casted it over the edge of the netherstorm and into the twisting nether, it's either destroyed or lost forever in there, in both cases, no longer a problem." He assured her.

"That's…good, speaking of my health, I can feel I'm in pretty bad shape…" she said.

"not so much, you're still in pain because our magical healers aren't what they used to be, but those using more traditional means have had much success treating the burns inflicted by my spell…sorry about that by the way…" he apologized.

"Can hardly blame you can I…" she replied with a sheepish smile.

"…Well, the good news is you won't have any lasting scar thanks to what little magical healing did work. Would have been a shame, high degree burns scars can really disfigure even the prettiest of faces…" the prince added, with a playful smile.

And on this day, Prince Kael'thas learned that night elves blush black.

"…I…eh…right." Was all that Maiev could manage to answer, too shocked as she was to come up with anything more coherent. She had not been complemented on her look for a long time…and certainly not by someone several millennia younger.

To break the awkwardness of the moment, the same blood elf girl that Maiev had seen when she woke up the day before…or she assumed so, she might have been out for several days for all she knew, came into the room with the mage Mel'nadin.

"Prince Kael, the situation is getting worse, what started as whispered complains as escalated to small riot, the people demand answers..." the girls said.

"And not just any answers Prince Kael, a good majority of them expect you to get rid of this warden before Illidan finds out." The old wizard warned.

"The stress of the exile and the unstable nature of this region must be taking its toll on my people, do they not realize Maiev probably saved us from extinction!" Kael spat at this news.

"My lord, this orb came along with the warden, many of our people feel betrayed that she was in the fortress all along without their knowledge in the first place. They feel this entire situation is your fault." The girl explained.

"They feel you took decisions in secret for your own benefit rather than the good of your people, the worst extremist are starting to doubt your reliability as a leader…" Mel'nadin added.

"This is preposterous! How there they challenge my leadership over this! I did what I though was right, how do they suppose this is for my own benefit?" Kael shouted angrily.

"Well…my lord, I'd rather not get into the details of the most salacious rumors I've been hearing with a member of the royal family, call me old-fashioned…" the aged elf said.

"Salacious?" Kael growled, ripples of heat starting to form in the air around him.

"My prince, people are confused, opinions are divided, as to why you did this, but the general consensus is that there is no way this benefits our people, in any way….you will have to talk to them, or we fear the worse." The girl said.

Kael took a deep breath, closed his eyes and opened them again when he was calm.

"You two are still on my side it seems, why?" the prince asked.

"We cannot expect you to be flawless just because you wear the name Sunstrider my prince, you have your flaws, sure, but you're still the only elf alive I'd ever call king." The old elf answered.

"I believe you did what you though right, even though there were great risks and no tangible reward, and if some think this doesn't make you a good leader, I think it makes you a good man, one I'm proud to call my lord." The girl answered.

"Thanks you both" Kael said, smiling "it's good to hear. Tell the people I'll be speaking to them at dusk."

"At once, my prince!" Mel'nadin said. Then, they both left.

Kael closed the door behind them and rested himself on the wall, rubbing his eyes.

Maiev looked at the prince and saw him in another light. She though she knew all about leadership, but Kael'thas Sunstrider was obviously facing pressure far worse than she ever had, he wasn't made a leader because of his skills, he had been expected to develop these skills to show himself worthy of this crown. He wasn't just responsible of a military unit, the fate of an entire race rested on his shoulders and he couldn't afford to think about himself, the need of his people had to be greater then his own. Not only that, but since Kael was still referred as prince, it most likely meant his father had died recently, leaving him with the task to safeguard his people at his (relatively) young age.

A few days ago, she had never though she could ever feel sympathy for this man, but now, quite despite herself, she found out she did.

"Kael…why _did_ you rescue me?" Maiev asked when they were alone.


End file.
